Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: Generations
by Disneyguy23
Summary: Sequel to 'Meeting With Destiny' and 'A Christmas to Remember'. A baby is on the way at Ranger Headquarters, and Norton Nimnul plots the destruction of history itself. Meanwhile, the Rescue Rangers must greet a traveler from an uncertain future, and disco
1. Chapter 1

**Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers**

**Generations: A Novella**

Welcome once again to the world of Chip and Dale and the Rescue Rangers. This is the third installment of the Continuing Adventures of the Rescue Rangers, and a sequel to the previous works 'Meeting with Destiny' and 'A Christmas to Remember'. A baby is on the way at Ranger Headquarters, and Norton Nimnul plots the destruction of history itself. Meanwhile, the Rescue Rangers must greet a traveler from an uncertain future, and discover the full range of their ultimate destiny. Note: This tale was not influenced by Dr. Indy's excellent story "The Times of Their Lives", which also involves Ranger time travel.

Prologue: The Final Battle 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September, 2010.

Norton Nimnul laughed maniacally. He'd finally done it. Not only did he hold the fate of humanity in his hands, but he'd created a way to rewrite his own life. All of the humiliations, all of the embarrassments, and also, all of the occasions that he'd been caused trouble by a certain band of do-gooders. He knew they'd be along soon. His laboratory scanners had picked up their craft several minutes ago. Their undoing was nigh at hand.

"Come on everybody! This must be Nimnul's new hideout!"  
Chip Maplewood stood on the wing of his wife's latest creation, the Rangerwing IV. The plane had less of the tinker toy look of it's ancestor, and had taken on a sleek, hawk-like appearance. Still, one could definitely identify it as a Gadget H. Maplewood original. The twin props could now rotate all the way around the wing, locking into any one of four positions.

Basil Maplewood, son of the intrepid leader, looked around skeptically as he climbed out of the plane.

"I dunno Dad, it looks a little science fictionish even for Professor Nimnul."

"Well with Nimnul, haven't we learned by now to expect the unexpected?" his sister Mariel asked, climbing out behind him. Mariel was a pale furred, golden-haired mouse that could have passed for a young Gadget Hackwrench. Exactly the opposite, Basil was a handsome chipmunk that was the spitting image of his father.

"Unexpected and unusually bad for our health," came the sour reply from the other side of the plane.

"Oh come off it, Sprocket," Mariel teased her other brother. "You know you enjoy these little raids as much as we do."

"Too roight," Monterey Jack rumbled. "You're a rough an' tumble little dodger, just like your 'ol Uncle Monty, you are."

"A fact that I've tried to train him out of," Gadget said from the cockpit as she jumped down. Time had been very kind to the Rangers' head technician. At forty-two, she still cut an impressive figure, as shapely and beautiful as ever. The only evidence of her age was a slight limp, the result of an on-case accident years earlier.

"Aw, Mom," Sprocket complained, "I'm not that bad. Besides, I'll bet I'm the only bruiser around who can spend an hour breaking bones on the bad side of town, and come home and build a new Rangerplane."

Gadget ruffled the teenager's hair affectionately.

"Well, you do have those endearing qualities."

"Shhh! Quiet everyone," Chip said, looking down through a skylight. "Nimnul's hard at work on something, I can tell. What was that you said you'd picked up, Gadget?"  
"Temporal incursion waves," she replied softly. "If Nimnul's up to what I think he is, then we're in major trouble."

"Trouble or not, if he's creating something to threaten society with again, then it's our job to stop him now, before it goes too far. Come on."  
Chip unclipped a small device from his belt, and clicked it on. A finely tuned laser beam shot from the end, and he ran it around in a circle, making a Ranger-sized opening in the glass.

"Gotta love technology," he said with a grin, hooking a trusty grapple onto the edge of the hole.

One by one, the Rescue Rangers of two generations dropped through the opening and down the line, landing softly inside the mad professor's laboratory. Chip took a quick look around, and started to give instructions.

"All right, gang, here's the plan. We've got to sneak down to the main lab before we're going to see anything, we already know that much from the past. Be careful, boobytraps could be anywhere!"

"Like that laser tripwire next to your foot?" Basil asked casually.

Chip jumped, and looked down.

"Thanks, son. Your old man's getting a little rusty, it looks like."

"Cheese it, everybody! It's Nimnul!" Mariel whispered.

The evil genius walked silently by, seemingly absorbed in some calculations he was preparing on a notepad. In a single line, the Rangers followed him down a darkened stairwell, staying well behind him to stay out of sight. They gazed around themselves in wonder at the conduits, wiring and controls that seemed to protrude from every available inch of wall space.

"He's certainly prepared for every contingency, isn't he?" Gadget said quietly.

Nimnul continued walking, until he reached a large, open area, which the Rangers realized must be underground. They followed as stealthily as possible, until he stopped, and flipped a switch on a large console.

The entire auditorium-like room was flooded with bright light, causing the group of heroes to blink in surprise. Nimnul cackled insanely.

"I know you're here, vermin! You might as well come out and face me now!"

"How'd he know we were coming?" Chip wondered, grinding his teeth in frustration. Nimnul turned toward the sound of the tiny voice.

"Simple, my friend. My scanners have been calibrated to pick up your little planes for months now."  
The leader of the Rangers snapped upright.

"You can understand us?" he called.

"Of course I can! After our incident with the modemizer, I never lost that ability! I've poked around every place where animals gather, listened in on their conversations, even perused some of your tiny publications, looking for any tidbit of information…on the Rescue Rangers."

Hearing Nimnul speak the name of their organization was chilling, to say the least.

"'E knows everything, mates," Monty said.

"Thank you for that, Monterey Jack," Nimnul replied. "Oh yes, I know every one of you by name. The Maplewood family, strong leaders and mechanical geniuses. Monterey Jack, the cheese addict and mouse strongman. And even goofy Dale, daydreaming Tammy, and lab-rodent Sparky, all of whom I assume are back at your headquarters. I've learned quite a bit with this talent I gained all those years ago."

Gadget spoke loudly to make her voice heard in the enormous space.

"So you've researched us down to a science. All right, Professor. What do you intend to do with your information?"  
"It's very simple, my dear," Nimnul responded gleefully. "I intend to eliminate you."

A collective gulp went through the Rangers' ranks.

"And just how do you intend to do that?" Chip asked.

"Once again, very simple. With this device, that I have spent the past fifteen years of my career perfecting!"

The mad scientist whipped a sheet off of his latest creation. A small, sinister looking vehicle sat before them, lights blinking as if ready for operation. Nimnul climbed aboard, adjusting controls and setting coordinates.

"You see, once I travel to a point where I met with you before, I can work with my counterpart there to destroy you, therefore removing these past decades of humiliation and defeat. Victory will be mine!"

"You're insane, Nimnul!" Mariel shouted.

"So they say, little miss," he replied with a sneer, "so they say. Goodbye, Rescue Rodents! Forever!"

As the device engaged, it lifted from the floor, creating a downdraft that felt like a tornado. The Rangers had to give all that they had, just to stay on their feet. Chip clung to Gadget for dear life.

"Is there any way to stop him!" he yelled above the wind.

Gadget shook her head tearfully.  
"I'm out of ideas, Chip! The only hope we'd have is the experimental device Sprocket and I installed in the Rangerwing, but it hasn't been tested!"

With a grinding sound and a bright electric flash, Nimnul's vehicle vanished into thin air. Everyone glanced around them, unsure of what to expect.

"What happened?" Basil asked.

"I don't know," Mariel said, more than a bit frightened. "The only thing I can think of is—look out!"

"Mariel? What is it?" Chip called.

"Look!"

In the center of the room, a cloud of bright blue energy was coalescing. Tendrils snaked out of it's core, seeming to seek the Rangers out.

"Run for it, mates!" Monty bellowed. He grabbed Mariel, who was seemingly transfixed at the sight, by the collar, and took off at a gallop. Chip and Gadget were directly behind, with Basil and Sprocket bringing up the rear. The blue energy streaked across the room, swirling at their heels. Basil screamed as one of the tentacles of light wrapped around him, and he began to literally fade transparent.

"Basil!" Gadget yelled, turning to go back. Chip caught her by the arm, forcing her to continue running. Another beam struck Mariel at the small of her back, seeming to bore through her and continue into Monterey. Both began to wink out, literally disappearing from existence in seconds as they ran. Mariel's cries tore at her mother's heart, and Gadget struggled against Chip's grip.  
"Let me go! Our children are dying, Chip!"

"If I'm right, they were never born," he said grimly. He had no more than gotten the words out of his mouth, before the energy sought him out too. Gadget felt his hand slacken against her arm as her husband dissolved in a pool of blue light. She screamed in pure, instinctual rage, rounding to face the danger. She held her hands up, as if to ward off the roiling energy, and it grazed her chest, just as Sprocket made a flying leap to catch her in his arms. He ran as fast as he was able, his heart hammering in his chest, leaving the advancing energy pool behind.

On the roof, he knelt beside the Rangerwing, trying desperately to catch his breath. He set Gadget down gently, and began his preflight check.

"Sprocket."  
"In a minute, Mom, we've got to get out of here!"  
"Sprocket, look at me."

He turned his head, already knowing what he would see. Tears began to drip down his face, as he realized that as he looked at Gadget, he could see through her. She smiled, reaching up to wipe away one of his tears.

"Don't cry, baby," she said, softly. "I've given you everything you need. You're our only hope now. You're the only one it hasn't gotten yet."

"But what is it, Mom!"  
"A temporal incursion wave," she said, her voice beginning to fade. "If it touches you, it incorporates you into it's changing timeline. It nearly has me already."

"No!" he said, desperately. "I won't let it happen!"  
"You can't stop it here. Listen to me, son," she said, her words at a whisper. "Use our invention. Track Nimnul. Wherever…whenever he has gone to, you have to stop him. You'll be protected in the past."

As the energy cloud burst through the roof doors, he struggled with the decision.

"I can't lose you, Momma," he sniffled, barely in control.

"You already have. But you can save me if you go now. You have to save yourself, for our sake. Don't let the Rescue Rangers die, son! Don't let our legacy die…"

The words faded like a summer breeze as Gadget Maplewood faded from time. Staring at the advancing storm front of energy, Sprocket fired the Rangerwing's engines, and rocketed away from the rooftop. As he flew, he was already working the onboard computer controls for his mother's latest invention: the Rangerwing's temporal barrier sequencer.

"Multiply the quantum integer by the temporal regression coefficient," he rambled, performing lightning calculations out loud. Behind him, the storm front loomed closer. Gritting his teeth, he looked back, and then intensified his effort.

"Engage overdrive accelerator, divide the regression factor by the square root of twenty-seven…come on Hackwrench, think!"

Rambling off the last set of numbers necessary, he locked the plane's tiny computer into a search cycle for Nimnul's chronoton trail.

"Have to hit the overdrive at just the right second, or this won't work," he muttered. The temporal wave was lapping close to the 'Wing's tail fin, coming closer every second, closer…

"There!" Sprocket shouted, as the instruments aligned. He hit the controls, and held on for dear life as the Rangerwing elongated into a blazing arc…and disappeared.

Seconds later, although it seemed an eternity, he opened his eyes. The plane was traveling down a blazing corridor of swirling colors, at speeds so great that the edges of the wings seemed to blur and then refocus, only to blur again.

"The laws of physics must be different here," he said in awe, gazing at the sight. He was snapped out of his reverie by the blaring of alarms from the 'Wing's dashboard. Even though Gadget had made many improvements to it's design over the past twenty years, the stress had caused the undeniable. The overdrive was causing the engines to overheat, just as it had the first time his Aunt Tammy had used it. The craft was shaking violently, causing Sprocket to grit his teeth against the inertia.

"Come on baby, hold together…just a little longer…come on…"

A pinprick of bright blue light glowed in the distance. He glanced over at the starboard wing, frightened at how red the engine cowling was glowing. The dot of light grew into a swirling disc, and he fought the wheel to keep the Rangerwing on course for it.

"Just a few more seconds…"

The sensation of free-fall overcame him as his craft dove through the light, and the starboard engine exploded.


	2. Chapter 2: Future Imperfect

**Chapter I: Future Imperfect**

New York City, Central Park: Rescue Ranger Headquarters. June 1990.

"Chip? Could you help me out for a minute?"  
Gadget Hackwrench Maplewood stood on a small stepladder, her hands buried deep inside the mechanics of the Rangerplane. The obvious obstruction of her rounding figure didn't help her work any. At seven months and counting, she really wasn't even supposed to be out of bed.

Chip walked out onto the tree's runway branch, and feigned a shocked expression.

"Gadget! You know what the doctor said about working on the planes in your condition!"

She pouted for a moment.

"Chip, honey, I'm pregnant, not an invalid. If I don't get my hands dirty once in a while, I'm going to go stir crazy!"

"I know, but why don't you get your hands dirty making dinner, or working on a scrapbook, or fixing the toaster? You know, something less…strenuous."  
"I knew it! As soon as this happens, you start trying to turn me into the typical suburban housewife!"

"Oh come on, Gadget, you know I wouldn't do that! I love you just like you are…whether you're up to your elbows in engine grease, or decorating a baby's crib."

"You do not. You fell in love with a radiant young inventor. Look at me now!" she said, almost starting to sob.

Chip shook his head, and put his arm around her.  
"Aw, Gadge," he said. "You haven't changed! You're still the same girl I fell for that first day on the Screaming Eagle."  
"Golly, thanks Chip," she smiled, wiping her eyes. "Sorry about this, these hormones are killing me!"

"So we've noticed. At least the tantrums stopped after the first trimester."

"Tantrums? I never noticed any of those."

He sighed, and got up, wanting to avoid any further undue stress on his wife.

"Just come on inside, Gadget. Tammy can fix whatever's wrong with the plane until after the baby gets here."

"I guess so," she said, looking wistfully at her tools. The past few months had been hard on her, staying out from under the hood of the Rangers' vehicles and equipment. Inventing, for Gadget, was like coffee. In other words, addictive. Her obstetrician had also recommended that she slack off on her caffeine, which was like a near death sentence for her immediate creativity, and she told the good doctor so. In several different languages.

As they walked back into Headquarters, Gadget gave her husband a sly smile.

"Well, one good thing will come at the completion of our little joint project."  
"And what's that?"  
"I get my Maxwell House 1892 blend back."

"Oh for pity's sake," he laughed. "You've been mourning your java withdrawal for three months now."

"Well, it's a little harder to kick the habit than I thought."

"Well you can do it. I've got a lot of faith in you."  
Gadget sighed.  
"I know. I'll just be glad when…"

BOOM!

A sound akin to a sonic crash ripped through the air around the Rangers' tree. The floor shook, and Chip grabbed Gadget to support her.

"What in the world was that?" she asked in wonder.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."  
"Croikey!" Monterey Jack said, coming in fresh from the shower. "Did anybody else 'ear that noise?"

"That's what I'm just on my way out to investigate, Monty," Chip replied. "Come on. Let's go have a look see."

In the air, the Rangerwing IV was burning. Sprocket slowly returned to his senses, only to find himself in a tailspin, heading straight for the ground. He shook his head, ignoring the disorienting pain that resided there, and hauled back on the wheel. The flaps pulled, but the plane wouldn't respond.

"Come on! I'm no good to Mom and the others if you make street pizza out of me!"

He pushed several controls frantically, trying to restart the damaged starboard engine. The motor coughed valiantly and turned over, but failed to catch, the wiring flaming even as Sprocket tried to crank it. He pulled with all his formidable strength, the controls creaking as he nearly bent them. The dashboard erupted in sparks as the overdrive gave out, robbing the port engine of it's power advantage. The Rangerwing fell like a brick, nose straight down. Sprocket fought the controls with everything he could muster, as the earth drew nearer. Miraculously, a few seconds later, the flaps did their work, and the nose edged upward.

"Atta girl," he said, with hope. What he saw next, however, abruptly dashed those newfound hopes. A tree was in his line of sight, and he was headed straight for it.

"Wait…is that…yes! It's Headquarters!"

Using the last bit of power on board, he slowed his airspeed as much as possible. The Rangerwing dipped low as it neared the branches.

"I don't see a thing, Monty. What happened?"  
"Dunno, pally. Oi 'eard that explosion just as clear as you did. But oi sure can't see wot made it."

"Neither can I," Chip replied. He scratched his head in curiosity, looking all around. "But it was something. Something big. And…Monty, do you see that?"

He pointed up toward the sky. Trailing smoke, a familiar style plane flew dizzily toward the tree.

"Looks like the Rangerwing, Chippah. But the 'Wing's sittin' roight heah!"

"I know. I don't like the looks of it, either. Whoever's flying is going to crash if they don't do something about that engine!"  
"Too roight, and they're doin' somethin' about it, too! They're headin' for the tree!"

Chip stared up at the looming craft, and realized that Monty was right. Leaping into the nearby Screaming Eagle, he jerked his thumb toward the Rangerwing.

"Get it out of the way! I'll take this one!"

"Roight!"  
Both planes whirred to life at an instant, their freshly charged batteries running their hovering props at maximum speed. Monterey Jack landed the Rangerwing on an upper branch, which the Rangers used as an auxiliary landing pad. Chip stayed in the hovering 'Eagle, watching the unknown pilot's plane speed toward them. All he could see was a shadow in the cockpit, struggling against the control yoke. The strange plane had slowed, but it dipped dangerously low.

"Why doesn't he use the hoverprops? He has them on there, I can see!" Chip yelled.

There was no time for Monty to yell back a response. The plane touched down against the branch, and bounced, nose over tail fin. The fuselage skidded sideways, snapping the starboard wing into pieces, and taking the smoking engine with it. The port wing broke away from the body completely, flying off to the side. The plane's body skidded onward, until finally…

CRASH!

The nose impacted against the tree, buckling the fuselage and throwing the occupant against the controls.

Chip started procedure to land the 'Eagle, bringing it down in a slow hover. Gadget came running out of the tree, as fast as her condition would allow. She stepped up onto what was left of the plane's wings, looking into the cockpit.  
"Easy, kid," she said, leaning the pilot back from the dashboard. As he plopped back against the seat, her hands flew to her mouth. The young flier opened his eyes for a moment, squinting against the morning sun.

"Hi, Mom."

With those two words spoken, he lapsed into unconsciousness. Chip jumped from the landed 'Eagle, and walked carefully up beside her.

"Gadget? What's wrong?"  
"He—he called me 'Mom'."

"Could have just been a delusion from his injuries."  
"Could be. But explain this to me."  
Reaching over, she jerked off the battered fedora the pilot was wearing. For once, Chip Maplewood was speechless. The face turned upward toward him…was human.

For the next few hours, chaos reigned inside Ranger Headquarters. Zipper was on lookout duty, watching carefully from the upper branches, in the case that the 'traveler' had been followed. Inside, Sparky and Tammy examined the young human with concern, and more than a little interest.

"Pretty healthy, all things considered," Tammy said. "Healthier than most humans I observe on a day to day basis. I'd say he's about fifteen years old, give or take."  
"I concur," Sparky agreed. "He got a pretty hard knock on the head in that crash, and he's got a broken arm, but other than that, I think he's in pretty good shape."  
"Thanks for the consultation, Doctor," Tammy joked, looking down at her charge. He was…handsome, for a human, she had to admit. Dark brown hair fell in gentle waves over his forehead, and he had a proud, well-sculpted jaw.

"How's the patient?" Chip asked, walking in with Gadget.

"He'll live. He'll be sore for a few days, while that arm starts to mend, but that should be all. He should be waking up any time now."

"That's what I'm worried about."  
"And look at this," Gadget said. Reaching outside the door, she retrieved a piece of the stranger's plane, a small section of the hull that had chipped off. Emblazoned proudly across it was the familiar double-R, with a lightning bolt striking behind.

"So now we have the question," Chip mused, entering Sureluck Jones mode. "How did a pint-sized human get hold of a jazzed up copy of the Rangerwing, and why did he coming flying like a madman into Ranger HQ when it malfunctioned? He obviously knows who we are. But that doesn't explain why he called you 'Mom'," he said to his wife. "Delusion?"  
"I…don't think so," she replied, nervously. "When he looked at me…there was plain, stark-clear recognition in his eyes. He knew who I was. The strange thing was…I felt like I knew him, too. Almost like a…"  
"Maternal instinct?" Tammy supplied.

"Thank you."

"But he's a human! How could you know him?"

"I don't have the answers for you, Chip. I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"Hey guys," Sparky called. "He's waking up."  
The Rescue Rangers gathered around the couch, where their visitor had been laid. The young man groaned, and blinked several times, taking in his surroundings. He was disoriented, confused.

"Ah geez, don't tell me Uncle Dale talked me into one of those all night monster marathons," he muttered thickly.

Surprise registered on the faces of all the Rangers. He knew Dale, too. Gadget sat down by him, and shook him gently.

"Um, hello? Can you hear me?"

At her touch, the human's eyes snapped open, and cleared. He sat bolt upright, staring at her.

"Mom?"

A wide grin spread across his features.

"It is you! I made it in time!" he cried, throwing his arms around Gadget. She gave Chip a confused and helpless look. The leader of the Rangers took the stranger by the arm, guiding him back against the couch.

"I think you're a bit confused, sir."

The boy lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Dad!"  
He looked around at the others.  
"Aunt Tammy! Uncle Sparky! You're all alive!"

The Rangers all cast worried glances on him. He looked around at them for a minute, and then his face fell.  
"Ah, darnit, I forgot. You don't know me yet."

"Well, that we agree on," Gadget said. "Maybe you should start at the beginning, and…enlighten us."

"I'll be happy to, Mo—um, I guess Gadget would be better for now."

He stood up, and paced the floor, frustration showing on every feature.

"If I did my quantum geometric calculations correctly, then this is the year nineteen ninety, right?"

"Could've gotten that from a newspaper," Chip whispered.

"Sureluck Jones to the end, huh Da—Chip."

The boy continued his story.

"I'm from what will be to you the year two thousand ten. I traveled back to this time after the Rescue Rangers' final battle with Professor Norton Nimnul."

"Nimnul!" Chip spat. "I knew it! He's trying to infiltrate us!"

"Please, if he'd wanted to do that, he would have done it…well, that hasn't happened yet. Golly, I can't think of an example off the top of my head…"  
Gadget sat silent with wonder. It was like hearing herself speak.

"Anyway," he continued, "I traveled back here on Nimnul's heels, to prevent…oh my God, I almost forgot what he did…"

He collapsed back to his seat, his head in his hands. Gadget patted him on the shoulder.

"It's all right, now. What did he do?"  
He raised his head, tears streaming down his face.

"He killed all of you. I was the only one to escape."

The silence in the room was deafening.

"How?" Chip choked.

"Somehow, he developed a temporal incursion device. Mom had been tinkering with something like it, and I was able to use it in conjunction with the R-IV's overdrive to follow him back here. I don't know what he's coming to this time period to do, but it has something to do with a plot his current self is developing. He said they'd work together to destroy you. By my reckoning, though, he won't arrive for another week yet. If I did my numbers right."

"Explains the weird lookin' version of our 'Wing, mates," Monty said, as he entered from the runway. The human ran to the big mouse, grabbing him by the arm.

"Uncle Monty! I thought I'd never see you again either!"

Monterey looked more confused than the rest of the Rangers, and the traveler started to realize it.

"I guess I should explain why a human is referring to all of you as family."  
"It would help," Gadget admitted. "But why don't you start by telling us your name?"  
He looked into her eyes, and felt a glimmer of hope.

"My name is Sprocket. Sprocket Hackwrench."

Gadget looked as if she might faint at any minute. Her head was swimming from all of this. Sprocket looked at her curiously, then shook his head.

"Oh Lord, I forgot, this is the year Mariel was born…"

"You were going to explain yourself," she prodded him, trying to keep her faculties in check. Sprocket looked down at the floor.

"It's Nimnul's fault, really. My whole life has been Nimnul's fault."

He gazed out a nearby window, looking detached.

"My birth parents were killed in a lab accident at Syracuse University, shortly after I was born. I was taken into the system, to be adopted, as they had no other family. The thing was, I didn't get adopted. A couple of years passed, and the social workers figured I was a lost cause."  
A tear trickled down Gadget's face. She had a very soft heart for people like this.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You haven't heard the best part yet," Sprocket said with a grimace. "When I was three years old, a little man came to the adoption agency, with an order from the Department of Welfare, saying that he was to pick up a child. The order was bogus, of course. Left to his own devices, he picked me up at random. He was gone before anyone found out the truth. That 'little man' was Norton Nimnul."

He squeezed his fists together at the emotions that welled up.

"As it turned out, Nimnul was conducting experiments with his 'gigantico-ray' again, and this time, he determined to use a human subject. I was that subject. After several weeks of preparation, he used that infernal gun on me. I was reduced to the size of a mousebabe in seconds. I never realized it, of course, even now I can't remember it. But I spent weeks in that lab, caged and being examined."

Monterey Jack growled deep in his throat.

"Blimey, Oi'd like to get me hands on that blighter after some business like this!"

"To make a long story short, Nimnul didn't last long in that location. The FBI busted him like they usually did. In the raid, the equipment locker where I was being kept was smashed. I toddled around the lab after everyone was gone, alone, scared, and, after a couple of days, getting close to starvation. I would have died, if someone hadn't found me."  
"Us," Chip finished.

"Bingo. The Rescue Rangers investigated Nimnul's lab a couple of days after the raid, seeing if he'd left behind anything…or anyone, of value. Apparently, I was hiding under a cabinet when you all arrived. From what I'm told, I made some sort of noise, and Monterey Jack hauled me kicking and screaming from my hiding place. He didn't know what to make of me, naturally. But luckily for me, Mom was there."  
"You mean me?" Gadget asked.

"Yes," he answered, looking back at the rest of the group. "The first real memory I have is of being held against the jacket of a pair of coveralls, and the smell of jasmine and machine oil."

"That's our Gadget," Monty chuckled. "So wot 'appened, son?"

"To sum it all up, Gadget and Chip…Mom and Dad to me, took me in, and raised me like their own child. I grew up with the Rescue Rangers, learning to fight crime and defend the right in whatever way possible. My IQ turned out to be about as high as Mom's, so she taught me everything about the sciences, mechanics, and inventing. You all gave me a home," he said, his face shining brightly. "You became my family."

He shook his head.

"Until Nimnul did it to me again, and took you all away from me. Mom literally faded away in my arms, while I tried to prep the Rangerwing to save us," he said, breaking into uncontrollable sobs.

Something inside Gadget made her reach out. She pulled the teenager to her, and cradled his head against her shoulder.

"Shhh, it's all right now. Don't cry, baby."

He lifted his head a little.  
"That was one of the last things you said to me. I thought…I thought I'd never see you again…never be able to touch you again."

She smiled a little awkwardly, and stroked his hair in her best motherly manner.

"Well, you may be a little unfamiliar for the moment, but one thing you don't have to worry about. In this time, I'm here for you."

"We all are, me liddle bucko," Monty said. "We'll get to the bottom o' this, an' get everythin' back to normal for ya!"

Chip reached down, and gripped the human's…his son's, shoulder.

"Yes, we will. I promise," he said.


	3. Chapter 3: Time and Again

**Chapter II: Time and Again**

The rest of that day was a talkative one at Ranger HQ. Everyone had questions for Sprocket, questions about themselves and the Rangers of his time, which at first he was reluctant to answer. However, Gadget came to his rescue.

"If the timeline's being tampered with, Sprocket, then as soon as you set it right, we'll forget you were here anyway. So you don't have to be as tight-lipped as you think."

He thought a minute, and grinned.

"Golly, you're right Gadget. Thanks, I was almost forgetting my temporal quadratic equations there for a minute."

"No problem. Oh and Sprocket, listen. If it…makes you more comfortable, or makes you feel any better to call me Mom, then go ahead. I don't mind."

He brightened.

"Thanks, Gad—Mom. It was pretty weird, looking straight at you and feeling like a stranger."

He looked around the tree in curiosity.

"This is before the big remodel back…or ahead, in nineteen ninety seven. I never saw things this way."  
"Well, its home, and it serves it's purpose," she replied. Taking a set of keys from a peg on the wall, Gadget headed for the door.

"Come on. I need to go to the market, much as I dread that, and a local packrat is holding some parts for me. An extra set of eyes like yours might pick up some hint of what Nimnul is doing. We'll take the Rangerbolt."

"You mean the old Charger? Gosh, it'll be good to ride in it again. I thought Uncle Dale would never forgive me after I totaled it back in…"

He trailed off, seeing his mother's expression.

"Well, maybe it's best I don't go into that right now."

"That'd be my advice."

They took a small circular stairwell down into the bowels of the tree. Normally, Gadget would have simply jumped into the rubberized chute that led down from the living quarters, but her condition prevented any such acrobatics for the time being.

"Wow," Sprocket breathed as they stepped into the large garage area. The Rangerbolt had just undergone a thorough testing and restoration, painstakingly completed after the Rangers' last case, in which the car had been badly damaged. Gadget chuckled, remembering that day. She'd nearly strangled Sparky, when she saw the ruined front fenders and the sagging bumper.

"Assuming we get out of this business with Nimnul alive," she said, "the Rangerbolt's slated to compete in the local animal auto races in a few weeks. Maybe you'll get to stay around and see it."  
"Maybe. But I think, if it's all the same to you Mom, I'll be getting back home as soon as I can. I mean this is home, but…you know what I mean."  
"I think so. You miss your life."  
"Yeah. But you know what I miss the most?"  
"What?"  
"You."

Gadget was taken aback.

"What do you mean?"  
Sprocket sighed.  
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have put it that way. I mean…the you that can just look at me and tell what I'm thinking. The you that cleaned all my scraped knees and busted elbows. The you that helped me with my science projects. It's just…I don't know."

Gadget put her hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Sprocket. I know it's hard. But, regardless of the time…it's still me. I'm still the same Gadget Hackwrench that raised you, just a bit more spry is all. We'll get through this. Your father made you a promise that we would, and I'm making it too. Now, chin up. Let's ride."

"Thanks, Mom."

Chip stood at the front window, watching as the sleek black car roared away from the tree. He shook his head.

"What am I supposed to do? That boy expects me to be able to restore what he's lost…and I'm not even sure how to fight the enemy he's bringing to our doorstep. Our Nimnul is bad enough. But a future Nimnul, with all that experience? I just don't know, Dale."

"Aw, come on, Chipper! Buck up! We'll think of somethin', we always do! That's why we're the Rescue Rangers, remember?"

"True enough. True enough! Thanks, partner. You and Zipper see anything strange out in the city this afternoon?"

"No more'n usual. Nothin' like what you'd expect outta Nimnul, if that's whatcha mean."

"Sprocket said that his Nimnul wouldn't arrive for a week. But that means that our Nimnul is going to be up to something in the meantime. We've got to find out what it is and be ready."

"Oi'm with ya on that one, Chippah," Monty said as he walked in. "But 'ow can we find out wot Nimnul's gonna be up to, without 'im makin' some move t'let us know?"  
"Good point….wait! Sprocket said that his Rangerwing had a micro-computer on board. Maybe when he and Gadget get back, we can salvage it. That would give us access to our future counterparts' case files."

"Sounds like a plan t'me. Where did those two get off to, anyway?"

"Gadget had to go pick up some groceries and some parts, and Sprocket rode along. I'm glad, too. I don't feel comfortable with her out by herself, at this stage."

"Relax, pally," Monty chuckled. "Gadget's an independent sort. Y'knew that when you married 'er. When that eighth month turns over, oi'm sure she'll be 'appy to stay home by the hearth for a while."

"I hope so. I've been meaning to ask Sprocket if it'll be a boy or a girl."

"Chip, oi know that we'll forget all this when the lad leaves, but…are y'sure you want to know, even for that length o' time?"

Chip was silent for a moment, considering what his friend was saying.

"You know, Monty, you're awful wise for such a young mouse."  
"Oi don't know about young, but oi've been 'round a bit in my time."

"Speaking of your rounds, you never did tell us what happened on your trip to Zanzibar."

Monterey shifted around nervously, looking out the window.

"Well…that's a tale for anothah day, mate. Ain't them clouds beautiful?"

Chip sighed. Why could his friend be so garrulous one minute, and close up like a clam the next?

"The old Second Street market," Sprocket marveled. "They tore this down when I was ten."

"That's a shame. They keep the best produce on this side of the city."

"I know, you used to come here to get the oranges for Aunt Tammy whenever I needed cough medicine."

Gadget sighed happily.

"It's good to know the Rangers' lives will be so full. Me, a decorated mechanical scientist and mother of three. Who'd have guessed?"

"Mother of five, actually. Leah and April weren't with us on the last mission, Dad said they were still too young. Then there's Basil, Mariel, and me. Mariel could pass for your twin sister."  
Gadget shuddered a little.  
"I already have one of those, and it hasn't been a great experience."  
"Oh, you mean Aunt Lawainie?"

"You actually call her that?"  
"Just to annoy her when we're hunting her down. She's still a terror even in my time."

"I can imagine. She nearly killed me a month or so before Christmas."

"Oh yeah, the infamous 'Fogie' incident. I read about that in the case files."

"Do we keep everything in case files, in this future?"  
"Just about. So many of our villains are repeat offenders, it helps with recognizing their MO."

Gadget pushed her small, handmade cart down the aisle, running through her analytical mind everything that was needed back at headquarters. She was about to reach over to the bottom shelf to grab a peanut, when she felt a fluttering sensation in her side. She leaned back against the cart.

"Mom? Are you all right?"  
"What? Oh, sure, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy, that's all."  
Sprocket looked at her for a second, and then slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Oh for crying out…I forgot, Mariel was born early! What's today?"

"Umm…the twenty-second."

"Uh-oh."

"Sprocket, uh-oh is the last thing I need to hear right now."

"Sorry, just a reaction. You've got three days, if I remember right."  
"Three days—you mean your sister'll be coming almost in the middle of this fight with Nimnul!"

"That's about the size of it. Looks like you'll be sitting this one out."

"Terrific. The biggest case in the career of the Rangers, and I'll be stuck in the nursery."

Sprocket grinned, putting his arm around his mother.

"Hey, look at it this way, Mom. After you get over the ordeal, you'll have a few days to yourself to just work on invention ideas!"

Gadget's expression brightened, and her eyes looked thoughtful.

"You know, it would be a good time to work on those update designs for the Rangerwing…"

"That's the spirit! Now come on, Dad and Uncle Monty'll wonder if we're not back soon."

After another few minutes, Gadget managed to finish her shopping with a minimum of fuss, and she and Sprocket proceeded toward the parking lot, sheltered in the shadow of several walking humans. Upon reaching the car, he popped the trunk, relieving her of the burdened cart and loading the contents into the Rangerbolt. Gadget walked around to the driver's side, and sat down.

"Well, well, what've we got here, eh boys?"

Looking up, she froze.

"Sugar Ray Lizard," she said contemptuously.

"Th' one and only, baby! I believe you know my associates," the hench-lizard said, indicating his dark crew.

"Oh, indeed I do. Pardon me if I don't get up, it's a little tiresome these days."

"So I can see! Guess the rumors th' boss heard were right, you marryin' that chipmunk and all."

"If its any of his business, yes, they're true."  
"You know, sweetness, ya really upset the boss when ya wouldn't be his moll. Rat Capone don't take no for an answer kindly. We's supposed to make you'se see things his way…"

One of the rats behind him pulled out a large, shining knife. Gadget trembled a bit inwardly, but didn't let them see it. She was about to spout off another remark, when a voice as cold as winter washed over her ears.

"Back off, scum."

Sugar Ray looked up in surprise. Sprocket stood at the rear of the car, fists clenched, eyes burning and dangerous.

"Geez, boys, I didn't know they made humans that small, did you'se? What's yer business here, kid?"

"I believe you know, you sorry reject from a fossil pit. The lady's with me."

"Oho, she's with you'se, huh? And just what're you plannin' to do about stoppin' us, hmm?"  
Sprocket smiled, and the lizard flinched involuntarily at his mirthless expression. The boy stepped forward, and cracked his knuckles loudly. It was only then that Gadget noticed how well toned and muscular his body actually was. His smile turned into a toothy snarl.

"The way I see it," he said, "we can do this one of two ways. Simple equation. First solution: you gutter trash get out of here, while you can still walk upright. Second solution: you keep troubling my mother, and I use your bones for drum sticks."

"Yer mother? But how?"  
"I didn't tell you to ask questions, reptile. Option one, or two. Which is it?"

Sugar Ray whipped his tail around with a crack, and grinned.

"I think we'll take option two, and work it over a little bit. Like we're gonna do on you! Get 'im, boys!"

"Mom, roll up the windows and lock yourself in!" Sprocket yelled. As the rats came in, he went into a defensive posture.

Gadget did as she was told, and watched in fascination. Sprocket stood his ground, swinging rats left and right like toys as they approached him. A right hook here, a jab there, a tumble somewhere else. One rat was disappointed in his efforts and lost his front teeth.

"Geez, you'se mugs! Cantcha do nothin' right? Let a pro show ya how it's done!"

Sugar Ray leaped over the fallen henchmen, and faced off with Sprocket. His tail cracked like a whip, snapping dangerously close to the boy's face.

"Let's see how tough you'se really are."

"With pleasure. You'll make a nice saddlebag for the Rangermobile…"  
Sprocket was caught in his posturing as the lizard's tail cracked against his head, knocking him off his feet. Getting his bearings, he looked up. Sugar Ray was grinning insidiously, waving his tail around in a dodging manner.

"Not so brave now, huh smart guy?"

"As brave as I need to be!" Sprocket yelled, grabbing Sugar Ray's tail. With a mighty heave and a move learned from Monterey Jack, he leaped to his feet and began turning in a circle, swinging his adversary around and around like a top.

"Hey, hey cut it out, I'm getting dizzy!" the mob lackey yelled.

"Your wish is my command, slimeball," Sprocket grunted. With one last effort, he turned loose of Sugar Ray, who went flying through the air to collide with a parked human shopping cart.

"Steeeerike!" the boy grinned, dusting off his hands. He turned back to the car, and sagged a bit, his adrenaline wearing off. Gadget opened her door and climbed out.

"Sprocket! Are you all right?"  
"I will be," he said, with a weak smile. He felt along the side of his head, where several cuts and bruises resided. "At least, I should be."  
"Come on, lets get home, and get you cleaned up. Where'd you learn to fight like that? I mean, golly, it was like watching Monterey Jack!"  
"Where do you think I learned?"

"You men!" Tammy said in disgust as she examined her patient once again. "Honestly, I'd expect this from Monty or Chip, but Gadget raised you! You should know better, young man."

"Young man? Sorry Aunt Tammy, but that one's not gonna fly here. You're only about two years older than I am in this time."

"Well, I'm saying it for my older self too. Hold still."

She applied a piece of antiseptic soaked cotton to a cut on his forehead.

"Ouch! Easy, that stings!"  
"That means it's working, now pipe down!"

Monterey, Chip and Gadget all tried to hold their laughter at the antics of the two.

"Too rah loo," Monty said in admiration. "The little bloke took 'em all on? Oi must've taught 'im pretty good, then!"

"I was lucky he was there," Gadget said. "I…ohhh."

She buckled against Chip slightly.

"Gadge? Are you okay?"  
"I think I better lie down. Sprocket told me that our first child comes early."

"Oh wonderful. Come on, I'll walk you to our room. Then I've got to get the team out and see if we can figure what Nimnul's scheme is."

Across town, in a large, dome-shaped building, a sinister cackle penetrated throughout the facility. A small man was seated at a large computer console, working eagerly with small wrenches and screwdrivers.

"With this new device, the whole city will bow before my demands, forced to do my every bidding! Ha!"

Norton Nimnul looked up at his invention with pride.

"My freeze ray will have everything in town stopping cold in his tracks. Get it, cold? Haha!"

Continuing to talk to himself, Nimnul flew back to his work at the control panel, fitting in chips and wiring, and various other small parts. His latest work was diabolical. The ultra-cold laser was not built to burn, as were most. Rather, it was powered by diamonds kept at absolute zero, producing a ray that froze anything it touched within solid ice.

"They think nuclear winter scares them? Wait'll they get a taste, of Nimnul winter! Ha, haha!"


	4. Chapter 4: Tempus Fugit

**Chapter III: Tempus Fugit**

"What?" Chip asked, looking at Gadget curiously across the dinner table.

"Tempus fugit," she said. "Latin. It means, 'time flies'."

"And what brought this on?"  
"I don't know. I guess it's just this whole new case, getting a glimpse of our future, seeing the offspring we raise…it's weird."

"Well, if Sprocket's any indication, then you'll do a great job raising our kids," Chip said with a smile. Gadget blushed, and looked down at her plate in embarrassment.

"Golly, you always know just the right thing to say."

"It's not easy, let me tell you. Sometimes I'm just so stunned by your beauty that I don't know what to say."  
The deep red flush spread from Gadget's face up to the tips of her ears. After the day that they'd all had, he'd left the other Rangers to get to know Sprocket a little better, while he took Gadget out to a nice restaurant. He knew the stress that the whole incident must be causing, and his only wish was to make her feel better somehow.

"This is a wonderful place, Chip. I haven't been to a French restaurant since before Dad died."  
"Well, Bernard told me it was the best in the city. I'd just been looking for an excuse to bring you."

Chip had met the Rescue Aid Society operative and his wife, Bianca, on a case some time earlier, when the Society had called in the Rescue Rangers for a joint investigative effort. But that's another story.

The waiter, a short, dumpy mouse of an unintelligible age, stepped up to the table, bearing two small pastries on gold-trimmed china.

"On ze house, mademoiselle," he said graciously. "Ze manager wishes you congratulations for your coming arrival."

"Why, thank you," Gadget said, surprised. "Just who is the manager? I'd like to thank him."  
"Right here, you two rascally kids, you."

"Bernard!" Chip exclaimed, standing up to shake hands with the middle-aged mouse who had appeared. "You're running this place?"  
"Well, I took a semi-retirement from the Society, and it keeps life interesting to have something like this to do. So Chip, when did all this happen? I haven't seen you two in a cat's age, I didn't even know you'd gotten married!"

"We were going to invite you, but apparently you'd been recalled for a special assignment."  
"Oh yes, that one about eight months back. Special case, very hush-hush."  
"McLeach came back, didn't he."

Bernard looked impressed.

"You're a mind-reader, Maplewood. He'd started up business again in the north of Asia, but we managed to track him down and start the human authorities on his trail. Got a bit sticky there for a while, but we got the job done."  
He sat down, taking a minute to shower congratulations on Gadget. He looked back over at Chip, with a knowing expression on his face.

"So what's the new case? I know that look you've got by now. Must be a big one."

"It is. Time-travel big."

"Get out! Fill me in, maybe I can help."

Chip explained the few details that the Rangers had at the moment, while Bernard listened raptly. The older detective shook his head.

"That's some situation. I'm no expert on temporal science, but I do know that you need to clamp a lid on this villain whenever he arrives."

"No kidding. Has the Society gotten any intelligence on Professor Nimnul lately?"

"Not much. We keep our eyes on him, just like you fellows do. But whatever he's up to, he's keeping it very low key. Something's up with him, though. I can feel it like a change in the weather."  
"So can I," Gadget said quietly. "This whole business just makes me uneasy."

Seeing a wave from one of the other patrons, Bernard got up, and made his good-byes.  
"Good luck to you both, with the baby and the case. Just remember, the Rescue Rangers are held in good esteem by the Society. If you need help, just call, I can guarantee a contingent of operatives wherever you need 'em."

"Thanks, Bernard. Hopefully it won't come to that. We've always been able to handle Nimnul in the past. You guys have your hands full with patrolling the globe already."  
"Isn't that the truth. You two have a good night."

Chip had to smile as he watched his friend walk off into the sea of other tables.

"There goes a great guy," he said sincerely. He pulled a small pocket watch from the vest of his suit, and checked it.

"Eight-thirty. Wonder what the rest are up to?"  
"Oh come on, dear, Monty's there, and Sparky too. What trouble could they get into?"

"Tah-da!" Sprocket said, brandishing the serving dish he'd been working on. Rising from it was a towering confection of cheese and pastry that he'd been working on for the past hour. Monterey Jack and Sparky looked on in admiration.

"Strike me starkers, lad, that's somethin' else, there! What d'ya call it?"

"Well, since you already make the triple-cheese surprise, I've always called it the quadruple-cheese surprise!"  
"Oi like it already," Monty said, his mustache twisting straight out. He was just reaching for the plate, when a screech came from the kitchen.

"Okay, who made this mess!" Tammy yelled.

"Uh-oh," Sprocket muttered. He made a beeline for the garage chute, bumping into a chair on his way. Pain shot up his arm, and he collapsed backward against the aforementioned furniture.

"Lad! Are ya all right?"

Monty helped him up with concern. Sprocket tried to work his arm properly, but he found a grating sensation prevented him.

"Great," he said, gritting his teeth. "I must have popped the bones apart again today in that fight."  
"Well, that's what you get for rushing in without using your head," Tammy announced as she stepped out of the kitchen. "We'll have to reset it."

"Again?" Sprocket blanched, remembering the first session.

"If you want to keep using it, then yeah, again. It's a good thing it was a clean break, or you'd really be in trouble."

After a few minutes of painful work, Tammy had her 'nephew's' arm securely bound and bandaged, enough to get it serviceable. Sprocket was able to flex his fingers enough to do basic tasks, and was content with that.

"Oh well," he said. "It's not as bad as the time Uncle Monty and I got into that big dust-up in Cat Alley."  
"Hoho, wot's this then?" Monterey wondered. "Care to entertain us with th' story, mate?"

Sprocket chuckled, and looked around.

"Uncle Sparky's not anywhere close, is he? We kinda used him as bait to lure out this gangster cat we were after, and he might not take too kindly to it."

This brought a round of laughs from all present. Sprocket was fully into telling his tale, when an eerie light bathed the windows from outside.

"What in nuts and acorns is going on out there?" Tammy asked, getting up to check the view. She gasped, and motioned for her friends to join her.

"Guys, you've gotta see this."

"Wot's the big—croikey!" Monty breathed as he took in the scene.

A short distance away from the tree, the park pond was frozen solid, the surrounding spotlights casting an odd glow on the fountain of ice that rose from the center. Sparky and Dale joined the others, and were equally distressed.

"Whoa, when did this happen?" Dale breathed, taking in the scene.

"Not too long ago, if the steam coming off the ice is any indication," Sparky answered. The absent-minded mouse was constantly forgetting things, but could effect a mind-boggling transformation to science professor when the situation required. He walked over to the door, taking down his toolkit from a peg there.

"Let's go have a look. If this is Nimnul's doing, then there's no sense letting the opportunity get away."  
Sprocket followed, grabbing his tattered bomber jacket from the sofa.

"I'm with you. Let's just hope our perpetrator has already left the scene of his crime. We're not exactly prepared for the usual duel with him."

The Rangers made their way down the trunk of the tree, and moved cautiously toward the pond, which in the heat of the June night was already beginning to defrost somewhat. Sprocket knelt down, fingering a wedge of ice that had crumbled from the rest.  
"It's no illusion. If this is Nimnul's new weapon, he must have been making a trial run. This must be the start of the case that the Nimnul from my time was coming back for."

He stood up, and walked over to the rest of the group.

"I believe we'd better start winterizing HQ. When the two Nimnuls meet, it'll probably be one of the first things they strike."

"You mean in your time, he knows where it is?" Tammy asked.

"Naturally. Remember the modemizer case? Nimnul never forgot what he learned in those few days."

Monterey jerked a small icicle from the edge of a park bench, and broke it over his knee in frustration.

"This mystery just keeps gettin bigger and bigger, mates! We're gonna have ta confront this loser sometime."  
"True enough, Uncle Monty, but we can't really strike at him until his counterpart gets here. It'd be futile. We need to wait till Mom and Dad get back, and lay out a plan of action."

"Agreed," Sparky said. "And start trying to come up with some sort of edge."

Sprocket thought for a bit, and then grinned.  
"I think I have an idea. I'll need Mom and Aunt Tammy's help, but I think I might know how we can get that edge."

Chip and Gadget returned later in the evening, thoroughly disturbed upon seeing the still melting pond.

"So this is what we can expect out of Nimnul? He's going to try and freeze the city?" Chip mused.

"I don't know," Sprocket answered truthfully. "Your Nimnul will be out for money. Mine will be out for revenge. They'll meet somewhere in the middle. But like I was telling the others, I think I have an idea to give us a defensive boost. Mom, did you get a chance to look at the wreckage from the R-IV?"  
"Not yet. Is there something important there?"

"Very. If we can salvage the main computer, then there's a definite hope. In my time, you once gained access to Professor Nimnul's computer network, and made notes on several of his inventions. One of those was…"  
"The weather changer," she finished.

"Exactly. If we can rig something like it, not exactly, but enough to shield Ranger HQ, it'll give us an advantage from which to fight."

Gadget rolled up her sleeves.

"I'll help all I can, but I don't know how much that'll be, considering."

"That's okay, Mom. You just give us the necessary pointers, I think Aunt Tammy and I can handle salvaging the computer. We just need it long enough to access those files. You can help with soldering all the boards and stuff back together. It's gonna be an all-night job I'm afraid, but it needs to be done."

"Right," Gadget said, in her take-command voice. "Monty, you get the percolator running hot, and keep it that way. I'll have to have a bit of caffeine for an all nighter, I can tell you that. Sparky, ground yourself. We can't risk you shorting out the components. Chip, Dale, you two just…well, stick around in case we need some spare hands."

Chip clapped his hands together, and looked around at his compatriots.

"You heard the lady, Rangers. Let's get cracking!"


	5. Chapter 5: Cold Time

**Chapter IV: Cold Time**

As the rest of the city slept, the midnight oil burned at Ranger HQ. The hangar and living room were a flurry of activity as parts were salvaged from Sprocket's wrecked plane, and began to be reassembled and repaired.

"All right," he said in certainty, "that should be the last of it. Now the job of fitting the computer components all back together starts. We can run the information feed through the television monitor here. Soldering guns ready, everybody?"  
Gadget pulled her goggles down over her eyes.

"Ready."

Sprocket reached into his hip pocket, and took out a very familiar pair of blue goggles of his own. He grinned as he slipped them over his eyes.

"You got a new pair back home, Mom, so I took these."

From across the room, Monterey Jack looked on and chuckled. Human he might be, but this young one was every inch Gadget Hackwrench's son. Standing side by side, both with blonde hair, blue eyes and identical sets of blue goggles, they even looked a little alike. The big mouse shook his head, and went back to the book he was reading.

For hours the flickering of soldering torches and the soft hiss of burning lighter fluid permeated throughout the tree. The R-IV's computer began to take shape again, albeit in a haphazard fashion, the circuit boards, chips and memory strung together however they could be made to work. Sprocket worked gently at a bit of wiring that connected the machine's hard drive.

"Have to be careful with this one," he said, his nimble fingers pulling wires and reconnecting them where needed. One last bit of solder, a piece of electrical tape, and a lot of hope included, he sat back on his heels.

"Okay, Aunt Tammy, hit the power," he called.

The squirrel nodded, and flipped a switch connected to a nearby battery. Wiring sparked, and there was a loud humming noise, but nothing else. Sprocket hung his head.

"I should have known," he muttered, and kicked at a jumble of wiring. Another series of sparks showered down, and the television monitor lit up, displaying the familiar RR and lightning bolt. Below were the words 'Rescue Rangers Mobile Vehicular Computer System. Please enter password'.

"Yes!" Gadget yelled, holding up a wrench in a gesture of victory. Crossing the room to a small keyboard she had assembled, she motioned Sprocket over.

"I'm hoping you've got the password for this thing."

"Sure, everybody has one."

Reaching over, he typed in a series of letters, which Gadget correctly read as spelling 'Rebecca'. She looked at Sprocket curiously, and he blushed.

"Umm…she's a girl I like back home. She was involved in an incident similar to mine, except she didn't escape for several years."  
Gadget nodded.

"Well, its good to know that you found someone like you. I don't want to sound callous, but I don't think you could develop a relationship like that with…well, someone like us."  
"That's what you said in the future, too. She lives with Aunt Bink in my time."

Gadget giggled, picturing the little squirrel in her mind.

"Sorry, its just weird hearing somebody call her 'Aunt Bink'. She's only six here."

About this time, the computer, somewhat slowed from the loss of some of it's memory chips, whirred to life, accepting Sprocket's password. A menu screen appeared, offering several options. Across the bottom of the screen ran a bar which read 'Windows XP Professional, Version 2007'.

"Geez, we need to update to the 2010 version," Sprocket said, absently. Typing in several commands, he pulled up the database of case files. Chip walked over and looked over his shoulder, pointing to a file.

"Cases the year 2000 and back is what we'll need."

"Roger, Dad."

With the appropriate files selected, Sprocket started a search for information concerning anything about cold, freezing, ray guns, or any combination. Several files popped up, but none posed any resemblance to what was currently happening.

"Hang on," Gadget said, "what's this one here?"

Sprocket peered at the screen, curious.

"Hmm, I guess I missed that one."  
Typing in a command, he hit the enter button. The result was completely unexpected.

The screen turned a brilliant shade of red, and the Rescue Rangers symbol was joined side by side with the red cross and silver wings of the Rescue Aid Society. A voice all too recognizable as Gadget's spoke from the television's speaker.

"This information has been classified, by order of Rescue Rangers Chief of Operations Chip Maplewood, and Rescue Aid Society Chief of Staff Bianca Ravenswood. Level Ten access required."

"Level Ten?" Sprocket said in surprise. "Mom never…well, you never encoded anything that highly that I knew of," he commented to Gadget.

"Well, I must have had a good reason. Do you have access codes for that level?"  
"Unfortunately no. Only you and Dad do."

"Strange. The Society and the Rangers work together on occasion, but for both to request that this be classified? Golly, it must be bad news."

"Yeah, I know. Do you have any idea what you'd have used for a password?"  
"I've got a few ideas, but what's the format?"  
"Like this."  
Sprocket cleared his throat, and pressed the 'send' control.

"Open file, access code 'Rebecca'."

'Access Denied. Level Ten code required.'

Gadget thought for a minute, and smiled. Pressing the same control, she addressed the computer.

"Open file, access code 'Geegaw Hackwrench."

The computer whirred for a few seconds.

'Identifying voice pattern. Confirmed. Gabriella Mariel Hackwrench Maplewood. Enter second pass key."

She shrugged, and after a moment's hesitation, answered.

"Second pass key—'Screaming Eagle'?"

A momentary silence passed.

'Identity confirmed. Pass keys correct. Welcome, Gadget."

She sighed.

"Well, at least that part wasn't hard."

The screen flickered, and a slightly streamlined version of the Ranger symbol appeared, replaced after a few seconds by the picture of one of the Rangers' own.

"Mom," Sprocket whispered.

The recording began playing.  
"To anyone in the future who opens this recording, I remind you that this information is strictly classified by both the Rescue Rangers and the Rescue Aid Society. What you are about to learn was quite possibly the most harrowing case ever undertaken by the Rangers, and nearly resulted in the destruction of our city."  
Gadget's image wavered and was replaced by one of Professor Nimnul's laboratory, surrounded by ice and snow.

"In the year 1990, Professor Norton Nimnul, expounding upon his weather-changing technology, developed a terrifying new weapon. The 'freeze ray' was a cold fusion laser, able to freeze solid anything in it's path. Several Rangers were nearly lost in this manner, saved only by the intervention of an individual that strangely, none of them could remember."  
"That would be me," Sprocket commented.

"These images were taken by Rescue Ranger Gadget Maplewood at the time of Nimnul's attack," the recording continued.

Pictures of frozen streets, ice coated buildings, and wrecked cars passed the screen, leaving all present in shock.

"This recording has been classified, in the fear that should anyone rediscover the potential of Nimnul's invention, that this event would repeat itself. In the event that this does occur, I've included plans for a defense, based on Professor Nimnul's original weather-changer technology. Flawed as it is, it works after a fashion. Or at least, it should."

Chip cringed at the 'it should', knowing what the phrase could entail. On the screen, Gadget looked as if she would continue, but paused.

"If this recording should reach my children, and they stand as the defense against such a situation…then I hope they remember that I love them with all my heart…and that they remember what it means to be a Rescue Ranger. A defense against evil. The…"  
"Line in the sand," Sprocket said quietly, as the recording faded.

Gadget hit several keys, and a series of blueprints flashed across the screen.

"Looks like this is it. Tammy, I'll help with what I'm able, but you and Sprocket are gonna be doing the lion's share of this one."  
"We won't let you down, girlfriend," Tammy said with a lighthearted, but forced attitude. What had played out on the screen had left everyone someone somber.

"Well gang, it looks like we're the only defense against this disaster," Chip declared finally. "Let's do our job. We've got three days left."

After Gadget had shown Tammy and Sprocket the right direction to start in, she went straight to she and Chip's bedroom, for a much-deserved rest. The baby had been declaring it's displeasure with increasing forceful kicks, and she was exhausted. She began to fall asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Several minutes into her slumber, she began to see images, recalled from the horrifying video. Ice was everywhere. Snow fell in torrents from the sky, and over it all, she could hear Nimnul's insane laughter. Her mind worked feverishly, trying to dissect the problem, look for a way to increase the power of one of her inventions, but nothing worked. But then, suddenly…there was the glimmer of an idea. A wild idea, but she'd always said that those were the best. Gadget smiled in her sleep as the plan began to take hold in her subconscious.

The next day dawned dark and cloudy, almost ominous in appearance. Nobody left the Rangers' tree for any type of frivolity; there was too much to do…too much at stake. Tammy, Sprocket and Sparky worked feverishly, trying to create a device similar to Gadget's specifications. They were having limited success.

"If we could just reverse the polarity of this stabilizer," Sprocket said, "we could increase energy output by twenty percent." Sparky considered the idea.

"True, but then we'd have an adverse strain on the molecular bond inhibitor."

"Yeah, there's that. It looks like we may have gone as far as we can. How wide a field can we produce now, Tammy?"  
She checked the readings of several instruments.

"I'd say big enough to protect Central Park, but no more."

"Great," Sparky said with a groan. "We stay toasty while the rest of the city gets a white out."

"Not necessarily," Gadget said as she came through the door. "I had an idea."  
The inventors sat up and took notice.

"Well, spill it, woman!" Sparky said.

"Okay, okay, keep your shirt on. I had a thought. What if, instead of trying to shield a large area of the city…we infiltrate Nimnul's lab, and shield it against itself?"

Sparky, Sprocket and Tammy sat dumbfounded. They turned to each other and began to talk at once.

"If we can get in there and set it up around his power core," Tammy said.

"Then we can set up a bimolecular depolarization field," Sparky continued.

"And turn the ice-gun's power back on itself," Sprocket finished with a grin. "I don't think this is the plan Mom had in mind originally when she made that recording…but I think necessity's made it better."

"There's just one problem," Gadget said. "To build the weather-changer, we've had to harvest all kinds of parts from the R-IV's systems. Sprocket, how are you going to get home?"

He thought a minute.

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I know we can come up with something. Now, let's go plan some particulars. The Nimnul from my time will be arriving in a couple of days, and we need a course of action ready."  
He tossed his mother a smile.

"Can I say it, Mom?"

"Sure thing, son."  
"Cool. Rescue Rangers, away!"


	6. Chapter 6: Deep Freeze

**Chapter V: Deep Freeze**

"Haha! With my freeze ray now completed, I can begin to make my demands from those fools in the city government. Nothing will stand in my way!"  
"Except your power limitations."  
Seated at his invention's command console, Professor Nimnul whirled in his chair. Standing in his doorway was what appeared to be an older version of himself. Shocked into silence, he watched as his counterpart walked up to the console, and looked over the controls.

"Impressive. Just like I remember it."  
"Say, what is this? Who are you?"  
"I'm you, Norton. Isn't it obvious?"  
"But how?"  
"I have traveled back here from the year 2010, where I have finally developed the temporal incursion technology that you so desperately want to achieve. In addition to that, I have another, very important mission here. To destroy those rodents which have plagued me in so many of my plans! You do remember the modemizer incident, don't you?"  
"Oh yes…I'd nearly forgotten," the mad scientist pondered. "Your story's too crazy not to be true. And I have so wanted to delve into time travel…its wonderful to know that I finally do! And the chance to get to consult with myself, oohhh, it's too good to be true!"  
"Be that as it may, Norton, you're thinking too small. Once we polish off the rodents and extort all the money we can get out of the citizenry, we can make the entire world our oyster, not just the city!"  
"And how do you propose to do that?"  
The future Nimnul smiled.

"Do you remember that defective satellite that the spaceplane left behind on it's first mission?"  
"Of course."  
"The only thing defective about it is it's guidance system. Its stuck in orbit directly over the equator. With the computer systems you have here, we can hack into it's protocols, and use it to focus the energy of the freeze ray. We can hit any target on the face of the earth!"

The enormity of the plan was not lost on the present day Nimnul, and he began to cackle maniacally.

"That, and we can rid ourselves of the rodents! Haha!"

Sprocket Hackwrench, just like his mother, had a habit of going on inventive streaks that could last for days. With the makeshift weather-changer complete, he was doing his best to build anything that could help the Rangers on their way. Late in the afternoon, Gadget found him hard at work in the garage, spraying the Rangerbolt with a strange, blue-colored liquid.

"What are you up to, kid?"  
"Hmm? Ah, nothing. Just an idea I had. This is a compound I learned to make when I was little. Add a little of this, little of that, presto! De-icer."  
"Well that's a good idea. What are you going to do for traction, though?"  
"Umm…I hadn't gotten to that yet, but if you give me a minute I can rig something. Well, actually fifty-seven seconds should be enough."

"You stole that line, and you know it, you little rat."

"Hey, what can I say, I learned from the best!"  
"Good save."

Sprocket turned back to his work, but then looked over his shoulder.

"Are you feeling okay, Mom? I mean, what with everything that's coming and all."

"I'm doing pretty good. A little nervous, maybe, but that never stopped me before."

Sprocket stopped working, and eyed her intently.

"You know, Mom, you're one of the greatest inventors who ever lived, but you're a really lousy liar."

Gadget shrugged.

"Okay, okay. I admit it, I'm scared. Not just because of Nimnul, but because of the obvious other reason. I've never had a kid before! Its just going to be a new experience."

"Well, new experiences shape our lives. They mold our character, help to make us who we become. They work their way into the substance of our personalities."  
"That's…comforting, in a philosophical and kinda roundabout way. Who told you that?"

Sprocket grinned.

"You did. Fifteen years from now."

"Great, I have my own advice turned back on me when I haven't even given it yet. What a day."

"We all have 'em. Trust me."  
"Hey guys!" Dale bellowed from upstairs. "Get up here and check out the news!"  
Sprocket took the stairs two at a time, with Gadget shuffling along behind. Both arrived in the Rangers' living room in time to see Professor Nimnul's image grace the screen.

"People of New York! I, Professor Norton Nimnul, hold your doom at hand! My latest invention holds the fate of humanity in the balance! Witness the destructive power I command!"  
Sprocket drew in a sharp breath.

"Oh no."  
"Wot is it, pally?" Monty asked.

"That's not your Nimnul. That's the Nimnul from my time! He's gotten here ahead of my calculations!"

The Rangers watched in silence as the professor pressed controls on his ever-present remote. Beams of cold blue light erupted from the skylight of his laboratory, freezing several buildings inside cases of shining ice.

"Haha! Here are my demands. One billion in gold, delivered to me by noon tomorrow. The bearers will come alone, with no police. Also, to a certain band of small do-gooders. If you come willingly, I might have mercy on your beloved city. Ha!"  
The hacked broadcast signed off, releasing the station to it's own programming. Chip threw the remote down in disgust.

"He's baiting us. He knows that we won't just sit here, knowing that he can destroy the city. He's given us no choice but to go."

"In other words," Sprocket said, "he's expecting us to be predictable. Even in my time, the Rangers have a set, organized method of how we do things."

"So we have to be unpredictable!" Sparky offered.

"Precisely!" Gadget replied.

"Too roight!" Monty interjected. "Oi'm all for takin' the fight to the blighters! Lemme at 'em!"

"Umm…Uncle Monty, that's what he'd expect you to do."  
"Oh."

Chip looked out the window, lost in thought. What to do? Their enemy expected their every move. And if they didn't act according to his demands, he might freeze the city anyway! Gadget offered the solution.

"Well, it's this way. We're going to have to distract him. Split our force, as it were. While part of the Rangers 'surrender' to Nimnul, the other half use the opportunity to get the weather-changer into his laboratory."  
She looked over at Sprocket.

"Have we ever done this before?"  
"Not to my knowledge. We usually keep a unified front. Dad's idea."

"Good, then we're sticking to being unpredictable. All right. Sprocket, Sparky and I will take the Rangerbolt, since it's been appropriately equipped, and do the infiltration bit…"  
"Hold it right there, my dear," Chip said seriously. "You're not going anywhere. With that baby due Lord knows when, you're staying right here. Sprocket and Sparky have enough technical know how to get the job done."

"But you still need another Ranger to even out the team."  
"True enough. And I think I know where we can find one."

Tammy walked out onto the hangar branch of Ranger HQ, and looked across the park. At another tree a short distance away, a tall, well built squirrel was working on the roof of his house.

"Hey Reguba!"

He looked up, and grinned at the visage staring back at him. Tammy Hazelnut was quite possibly the most beautiful girl he'd ever met, and the reason he'd moved across the pond from Redwall Abbey.

"Hey Tam! What's cookin', good lookin'?"

Tammy shook her head.

"You listen to too much old rock and roll," she yelled. "Get over here, important meeting, we need you!"  
"There in a second!"

Tammy gasped as Reguba took a flying leap out of his tree, and spread his arms wide, flattening out his tail. He caught the wind current, and glided with seemingly no effort right into the Rangers' tree…and Tammy's arms. The two tumbled over and over, eventually stopping just short of colliding with the Rangerplane.  
"You…goof!" she gasped, laughing. "Where'd you learn to do that?"  
"From an old flying squirrel that stayed at the Abbey one winter. Amazing fellow."

"He must have been! But that's not why I called you over here!"  
"Oh? And just why did you call, my little ray of sunshine?"  
"Please, Reguba," she giggled, "this is definitely not the time to get mushy."

"I have to agree," Gadget said from the doorway. "Come in, Reg. This is an emergency."

The squirrel warrior immediately became serious, his accent thickening.

"Is there trouble, my lady?" he asked, becoming as formal as ever.

"Reguba, for heaven's sake, cut the titles. She's your lady, I'm Gadget. Now get in here, we've got a crime to prevent."

"At once!"  
Upon learning of the situation, Reguba was as incensed as Monty was.

"I say, I would like to settle a few blows on this villain!"

"Be that as it may," Chip said, "we need level heads on this. Reguba, we need for you to take on a very serious responsibility."  
"I am here to serve, sir."  
"Good. Welcome to the Rescue Rangers."

"What?"  
"We need another Ranger, and you fit the bill, if you're ready."  
Reguba stood tall, and offered Chip his hand.

"I stand ready to defend the cause of justice! You have my oath, upon my warrior's honor that I shall!"

"Oi think that's about the best we can ask for, lad," Monty said, slapping the new Ranger on the back. "'Opefully we'll get th' chance to bust some heads before its over, eh mate?"

"Hopefully, yes."  
"Let's just hope we don't get our tails handed to us," Sparky said, with Dale echoing the sentiment.

"All right, Sprocket," Chip announced, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "We're going to need our brains department to whip us up some advantageous equipment. I know you've already done some, but we've got until noon tomorrow. So dig into your imagination and go crazy!"

The young Ranger looked around at Tammy and Sparky, and rubbed his hands together in glee.

"Guys, let's get dangerous."

The group of gearheads headed to the workshop. Gadget looked after them, slightly forlorn.

"I still think I should go," she pouted. Chip put his arms around her, and kissed her gently.  
"Come on, sweetheart. We can't risk anything happening to the baby. And besides, we'll be in constant contact, you'll be monitoring from here, and I'm sure our son will come up with some other ways for you to take part."

"I guess so. I just feel guilty, literally sitting here on my tail while all of you save the city."  
"Some things can't be cured, just endured, Gadge. We'll be all right."  
He drew her into his arms, and held her.

"Everything's going to be all right."

"I know, Chip. Just come back to me safe. I'll never forgive Nimnul or you if you don't."


	7. Chapter 7: The Darkness and the Dawn

**Chapter VI: The Darkness and the Dawn**

Noon. That was all the time they had. While the rest of the Rangers rested, Sprocket, Sparky and Tammy worked far into the night, fine-tuning every piece of equipment, and even building some new. The Screaming Eagle's glue cannons were recharged to full capacity, it's overdrive inspected and tuned to a purr, and the wings re-stitched wherever any small discrepancy could be found. The Rangerwing was treated to the same tune-up job, making sure that all of Gadget's 'shoulds' would actually perform. Sprocket knew his mother's tells, and could always spot the loose wires or missing bolts in an instant. With all of this accomplished, and the clock reading twelve-thirty AM, it was time for the group to turn their attention to the need for a clear-cut advantage.

As the three sat at the workbench, Sprocket leaned his head into his palm, and yawned.

"Uncle Sparky, have you got any ideas? My brain's running just about on empty."

Sparky looked at several of Gadget's blueprints that were stretched across the table, and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm getting pretty tapped out too. Tammy my dear, would you mind procuring our needed caffeine dosage?"

"Sure thing, guys."

The squirrel plodded downstairs from the workshop, feeling around for the light switch at the bottom of the staircase. She was beat, just like the others, but she knew their efforts could mean the difference between victory or defeat.

Or life and death.

Upon entering the kitchen, Tammy wasn't surprised to find it already occupied.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked as she reached for the coffee carafe. Gadget smiled ruefully, the tiredness showing in the pinched look around her eyes.

"Not really. I'm pretty much a nervous wreck. I figured I was going to wake Chip up tossing and turning so much, so I just decided to sit here for a while."

"And drown your sorrows in a pot of Maxwell's blackest?"  
Tammy looked down at the pot that sat on the table.

"A full pot, at that."

Gadget grinned, looking down at the near empty thimble in front of her.

"I guess I did overdo it a little."

"I think you did too, but seeing as how you're just a little way off from delivery, I guess we can overlook it."

Tammy put several beans into the grinder that Gadget had built, and poured the resulting powder into an equally handcrafted percolator.

"You know, Gadge, it's a good thing you're so mechanically inclined, or we'd be in a bad way for appliances."

"Thanks, but I'd really like to be helpful some way other than that right now."

Tammy left the coffee to percolate, and put her hand on Gadget's shoulder.

"I know. But what you have to concentrate on the most right now is taking care of this new Ranger!" she said, patting her friend's rounded midsection playfully.

"You always could make me feel better," Gadget giggled. "As soon as you got over being jealous, that is."  
"Who, me?" Tammy quipped, a twinkle in her mischievous eyes. She had to laugh at Gadget's mock-reproachful expression.

"I think I'll just let that one drop," she said, taking the now full carafe in hand, and making for the door.

"Tammy?"  
"Yeah, Gadge?"

"Thanks."  
"No problem, girlfriend. You know I'm always here to help out."

Leaving the young mouse to her vigil, Tammy padded back upstairs, carrying her steaming burden carefully. The sight of the liquid was enough to bring bright smiles to the faces of the two inventors in the Rangers' workshop.

"Took you long enough," Sprocket commented, holding up his thimble to be filled.

"Well, I had to play psychoanalyst for your momma, so don't complain. She's more worried about all of this than we are."

"Then let's ease her worries, and engineer up a storm," Sparky said, raising his mug in salute. Breathing in the steam and vapors, Tammy and Sprocket lifted their cups in agreement, and the trio set back to work with renewed vigor.

The following morning found the three exhausted Rangers slumped at their places, fast asleep, while the team's vehicles bristled with new weaponry. Sprocket had even harvested a cutting laser from the wreckage of the R-IV, giving the Rangerwing the ability to surgically make an exit from a sticky situation, if need be. Around seven o'clock, Gadget peered into the workshop, and shook her head at the scene. Chip joined her, linking his arm through hers.

"Like a bunch of kids after a slumber party," he chuckled.

"Let them sleep," she chided. "They look like they put in a long night of it."

Looking at the dark-stained tumblers that sat all over the room, she frowned.

"Looks like they went through all of my best supply, too."  
"You and your coffee!" Chip laughed, guiding her away from the door. "Besides," he continued, "I doubt they found your 'emergency-emergency supply'."

By ten, the tree was buzzing with activity, feet pounding the floors as the team prepared to meet the man who was quite possibly their most dangerous enemy. Shortly before noon, Nimnul once again hijacked the airwaves, sending a message to the city's leaders.

"So, it appears you've decided to acquiesce to my demands! I've observed the transports approaching my lab. I haven't seen that certain group that I mentioned, however. You don't have long left, haha!"

"Well, he's thrown us the final gauntlet," Chip remarked, staring at the fading television monitor.

"Then let us answer him!" Reguba roared, his warrior blood rising for battle.

Chip slung a plunger harpoon over his shoulder, and leaned over to kiss Gadget.

"We'll be back for dinner," he said with a bright smile. She chuckled.

"Good, I know to send for takeout then."  
Sprocket stuck his head in from the hangar, his coveralls smeared with oil.

"I've done preflight checks on the Eagle and the 'Wing. The Rangerwing has the weather-changer loaded, and everything we'll need to get it going. We're as ready as we'll ever be, Dad."

Monterey Jack smacked a fist into his open palm.

"Well oi'm ready to get crackin'! Crackin' heads, that is!"  
Tammy shook her head.

"Don't get too cocky, Monty. We've got no idea what we're walking into. Let's just pray we're successful."

All the heads in the room nodded in agreement.

"All right, Rangers," Chip said in an authoritative voice, "let's move out. Rescue Rangers, away!"

HQ emptied in a flash, the illustrious crimefighters piling into their planes and the Rangerbolt, off to save their home and the world once again.

Gadget gazed out the window wistfully, sighing as the two prop-driven transports screamed away. Behind her, Martha Hazelnut and Foxglove, who had come to stay with the crestfallen inventor, settled in for the long wait.

"They'll be fine, Gadget," Foxglove reassured. "They always are."  
"I know, Foxy. I just feel like I should be with them."  
"You are, my girl," Martha smiled. "You're always in their hearts. Even though you're sitting here waiting for the baby, you're still riding into action with the home team."

Gadget brightened a bit, her expression turning hopeful.

"You know, you're right. And besides, there's still things I can do from here! I can even keep in contact with the new long-range comm unit I built into the planes a few weeks ago. At least I'll know what's going down."

She got up, intending to head upstairs where her radio's base unit was located, but quickly sat back down, a hand pressed to her side and an odd look on her face.

"Gadget? What's wrong?" Martha asked.

"N-nothing, just a weird feeling, that's all. I just…don't feel so good, for some reason."

"Uh-oh," Foxglove said, fluttering her wings nervously.

Gadget shot a look back at her.

"Please don't use that phrase right now, Foxy."  
"Well sorry, it's just that my echo-location was picking up some strange vibrations from you."

"That's it," Martha declared, taking her young charge by the arm. "It's into bed with you, young lady."  
"But…"  
"No buts, Gadget! If something happens, I want you in the first place the doctor would send you."  
"But Martha…"  
"March!"  
Obeying the command, but not really wanting to, Gadget went down the hall to she and Chip's bedroom, holding to the wall for support. Truth be told, she'd felt a little strange ever since waking up. Maybe Sprocket was right, and the baby would come early. As she sat down on the bed and lay back, Gadget closed her eyes, and made a silent prayer.

"Please let Chip come back safe."

"Nimnul's laboratory, dead ahead," Chip called over the radio. "Everybody remember what you're supposed to do?"  
"Roger wilbury," Sprocket responded, using a phrase he'd heard Gadget say long ago. Chip grinned, the familiar sound reassuring him.

"Well, with a Hackwrench on the team, what could go wrong?" he asked Monty, who was sitting beside him at the Rangerwing's auxiliary controls.

Monterey Jack, thinking back over past missions, decided not to comment.

On the ground, Sprocket and Sparky sped toward the evil scientist's home, the Rangerbolt's throttle opened to full. The engine's eight cylinders rumbled in perfect time, propelling them along the gutter they had taken at nearly forty miles per hour. For a human, this might not seem like much, but for a small animal craft, it was a raging blast of speed.

"I gotta remember to thank Mom for building the Rangerbolt II when I get home!" he laughed, careening the car around a corner. Sparky merely nodded, trying to hold on and keep his lunch at the same time. He was now positive that Sprocket had learned not only his trade, but also his driving skills from Gadget.

Nimnul's lab, housed in a huge globe-like structure, loomed in the distance. It had always produced a sense of foreboding for the Rangers, but now more than ever. The dome had ice hanging from every exposed surface, and a small trail of cold steam inched upward from the large opening in the roof, where Nimnul's devious invention protruded.

"Croikey," Monty muttered from his seat, giving Chip a sideways glance. "Oi've 'eard of bringin' out the big guns, but this is blinkin' ridiculous!"

"You'll get no argument outta me," Chip replied, shaking his head. "Let's land and get this over with. There's not a second to lose."

With hoverprops whirring, the Rangerwing and the Eagle landed smoothly, with the Rangerbolt screeching to a stop beside them moments later. Being extremely careful of the sensitive equipment, Sparky and Sprocket offloaded the weather-changer to the car, and began to climb back in, to look for an opening. Chip reached out, stopping the young boy for a second.

"Sprocket?"  
"Yeah, Dad?"  
"Be careful, son. Your mother'd never forgive me if I let something happen to you. Even though she doesn't know you that well in this time…she loves you. I can see that. Don't do anything foolish."

"You can count on me. Rescue Rangers away, and all that!"

The Ranger-sized human jumped into the driver's seat, and sped away toward the side of the dome. Chip had every confidence that he would accomplish his mission.

Now, the rest of the Rangers had to accomplish theirs. In a word, keep the Nimnuls busy long enough for their two intrepid infiltrators to throw the proverbial monkey wrench into things.

On a camera inside the dome, the Rangers' landing did not go unobserved. The future Professor Nimnul rubbed his hands together in anticipation, watching as the two small planes were unloaded. However, in a rare moment of oversight, he did not observe the departure of the Rangerbolt moments later. For the moment, Sprocket and Sparky's task was in no immediate danger. Nimnul turned to his counterpart from the present, a diabolic, evil grin on his face.

"So, Norton. It would seem you guessed the full extent of my plan."  
"Mmmph!" the present professor tried to yell, prevented by the gag that wound around his face. He had been bound hand and foot, and tied to a chair, able only to watch as his future self played out a scheme even he found reprehensible.

"Once those little Rangers are out of the way, I'll use your invention to freeze the entire world! I will possess the only sources of heating available. The planet's populace will pay me billions to keep from freezing to death!"

The present Nimnul looked on, thoughtfully.

I get really ambitious in the future, it looks like.

The other scientist paid no heed to his younger self's apparent musing. He merely watched in happiness as the Rescue Rangers dashed up the main hallway of his laboratory.

"Now, for a little…rat poison," he snickered, flipping a switch.

Chip glanced around the walls, having an eerie feeling of déjà vu. What was the expression Gadget had used on the Redwall mission…someone walking over your grave? He shook his head, clearing the ominous thoughts away.

"Okay, gang, we've got to give Sprocket and Sparks enough time to…"  
VEEEPPP-VEEEPPP-VEEEPPP

"Uh-oh," Dale gulped, as the alarm sounded throughout the hallways.

All around the Rangers, small doors in the walls slid silently open. From within, slitted eyes glowed dangerously from the darkness. They reminded Chip of Nimnul's robotic dogs from their first case against him, but…

"B-blimey," Monty stammered, "robot CATS!"

With wide rows of teeth gleaming and giving off choruses of electronic yowls, the metal monsters advanced on the small crew, looking like enormous harbingers of death and destruction. Chip gave the obvious instruction at the top of his lungs.

"Run!"

The tiny do-gooders scattered and scrambled for cover. Tammy and Chip climbed one of the walls, looking for shelter behind some of the protruding switches and equipment.

It hadn't occurred to them that even metal cats could climb. The howling mechanical beasts sank their razor-sharp claws into the wall, coming up after the two terrified Rangers. From across the way, Monty and Dale weren't in much better shape. Reguba was clinging to a low hanging cable, a cat pawing at him inches away from his large, brushy tail. The cat's claws nipped him just slightly, eliciting a yelp from the victim.

"I say there, chap, bad form, wot!" he yelled, slipping into the Redwall hare dialect he'd grown up with. As his adversary continued to attack, the natural instinct that had been bred into the warrior squirrel took over, and he snapped. Jerking a fighting staff from it's holster on his back, he raised it into position and took a flying leap off the cable, and onto the robot cat's back, yelling his ancestral battle cry.  
"Redwaaallllllll!"

The metal predator was caught completely off guard. It's processors hadn't been programmed to deal with berserker squirrels. Reguba lit into Nimnul's creation with a vengeance, slamming blows around the back of it's head and into it's ears. Had the staff been made of wood, it would have splintered instantly. But Gadget had built this particular weapon for him, forging it from shavings of stainless steel. Sparks flew as Reguba smashed panels and chips, and severed wiring.

From their perch above, Chip and Tammy watched in fascination, while trying to keep their own fur intact. Their own cat was inching closer and closer to them, it's claws extending to what seemed like spear length to them. Tammy was ordinarily a cool head under action, but her fear got the better of her, and she gave in to her natural predisposition to run.

"Tammy!" Chip yelled as she scampered further up the wall. He saw the switch in her path, but was too late to shout a warning. As her foot hit the small control, high voltage electricity shot through Tammy, lighting up her body like a Fourth of July display. Below, her scream caught Reguba's ears, and he looked up.

"TAM!" he yelled in rage. The remainder of his self-discipline evaporated, and he made a mad dive toward the spot where he calculated she would fall. He skidded to a stop in time for his girlfriend to fall into his arms, her fur singed and smoking slightly. She was alive, but she was hurt. Reguba leaned over her still form, his eyes taking on an almost unearthly glint. Both Chip and Monterey Jack knew what was coming. Reguba was being consumed by a battle madness both of them had seen before. Monty had called it a stark cold, killing rage. The badgers of Redwall called it bloodwrath.

Standing in front of Tammy, Reguba held out his staff in one hand, and made a beckoning gesture with the other.

"Come, fell beasts! Come, and meet your doom at the hands of Reguba, son of Reguba, warrior of the squirrelclan of Essex!"

The cats, seemingly impressed by this display, moved in. Reguba tore into them like a whirling dervish, his staff flashing in an arc of silver light, ripping circuitry and hull-metal wherever it struck, driven by his incredible strength. Looking on from his own escape, Monty's ingrained punchiness took over.

"Strike me starkers, oi've got ta get inta that!"

Jumping into the fray, Monty grabbed a piece of debris that had clattered from one of the cats, and started swinging. Chip and Dale looked across at each other, and shrugged. Finding weapons of their own, they dove into the fray.

"Pistachio!"

In other parts of the lab, Sprocket and Sparky had so far managed to proceed undetected. The circuitry and coolant needed for Nimnul's cold gun was run all over the building, and finding a critical juncture in the system had been no easy task. Sprocket had been disturbed by the news of the fight, which Zipper came winging to them carrying.

"Well, it sounds like they're holding their own," Sparky commented. "Let's get this set up, and then we can go and help."

"Agreed."

The two inventors began unloading packages of equipment from the Rangerbolt, and started to carefully integrate the pieces into Nimnul's existing machinery. As Sprocket connected power to the weather-changer's main board, an alarm sounded.

"So much for our cover," he groaned. "Better work fast."

"Aye-aye, captain."

They worked at their top speed, making connections, soldering wires and circuits, and connecting the parts needed.

"Just a few more minutes, that's all we need," Sparky said in triumph.

A rumble sounded throughout the access shaft.

"Then again…"  
Around the bend came two more of Nimnul's mechanical marvels, their claws tearing up the floor as they bounded toward the two Rangers.

"Work fast, Uncle Sparky!" Sprocket yelled. He grabbed a wrench, and was preparing to strike, when a metallic blur raced past him. The newcomer plowed into the mechanical cats, throwing them to and fro like newspaper. The fight didn't last very long, the robots collapsing into heaps of powerless junk. A slight chuckle could be heard in the near darkness, and it had a distinctly…electronic tinge to it.

"Tom!" Sparky exclaimed as he got a better look at their rescuer. "Where did you come from?"

"Well, I happened to be in the neighborhood," the Rangers' resident robot friend replied. "And Gadget sent a signal to my onboard computer, saying you might need some help. She called it a 'contingency plan'."

"That's my mom," Sprocket laughed. Tom didn't comment, having been briefed by Gadget on the whole situation. He did, however, show the younger Hackwrench a bit of concern.

"You'd better hurry up, kid. Your mom's going to be calling on the doctor soon, I think."

The news galvanized the mechanic duo into action.

"Hand me that last handful of pieces, Uncle Sparky, so we can go help out the others!"  
"Others?" Tom asked. "Are they in trouble?"

Sprocket pointed up to a security monitor.

"You might say that."  
Tom's internal servos whined as he pounced away down the corridor, his eyes lighting up like headlamps in the dark as he headed for the other Rangers.

After a couple of minutes, Sparky connected the last piece of machinery to the power conduit, and soldered it into place.

"There. When Nimnul flips that switch, his cold beam is going about as far as the spaceplane with a quart of fuel."

"Good. Come on, I have a feeling the professor is going to make a little visit when he sees how badly his robots are faring."

Upstairs, the robot cats had indeed fared badly. Reguba had accounted for three of them on his own, and was sitting at Tammy's side, bleeding and bruised, but otherwise unaffected. Monterey Jack and the chipmunks had done in another two cats, and Tom had arrived in time to take on two more which had threatened the nearly exhausted group. Sparky and Sprocket trotted up, tools in hand, just late enough to miss the last of the action. Looking around at the smoking wreckage of the robots, the Rangers began slapping each other on the back and passing around congratulations.

"Jolly good dust-up, mates!" Monty said. "Now, we've got ta find Nimnul!"  
"But you already have, my good mouse."

All eyes turned in dread to the small human form in the doorway, small but also a giant to them. Grinning like one of the Siamese Twins, the mad professor tossed his remote control up and down in his hand.  
"So, you got past my cats, eh? Well then, once I start the big freeze, I'll take care of you personally. Maybe I'll break out the ol' Gigantico gun and shrink you all to the size of germs!"

Reguba shielded Tammy, who had woken slightly, behind him, raising his staff in readiness. Beside him, Sprocket went into a defensive posture. Nimnul laughed.

"So, you two are ready to take on the big bad human, huh? Little good it'd do you. I'd squash you like bugs!"  
"Then bring it, if you have the courage!" Reguba stormed.

"What he said," Sprocket added. "I owe you, Nimnul."

"Owe me? For what, I wonder. I…"  
Recognition dawned in the silver-haired villain's mind.

"It couldn't be. No…not my little science experiment! Well, you must have found your way in with these Rescue Rodents! This was something I hadn't counted on, especially how you might find your way back here!"

"You killed my family, you rabid garbage. Do you think I'd let that pass without an effort to the contrary?"

"How touching. But once I flip the switch on this remote, it's curtains for the rest of you vermin, and this city!"  
With his thumb, Nimnul depressed the control that would enable the ice cannon to fire. Sprocket gave the thumbs up to Sparky.

"Now!"  
The mouse scientist slapped a hand to his own remote, clipped inside his labcoat.

Deep inside the laboratory dome, sparks flew as the cold system began to short out. The weather-changing field slowly formed around the building, and as the cold laser let go with it's freezing blast, the bright ray stalled only yards from the barrel, and was forced back upon itself. The protruding gun exploded, showering the upper lab with debris and burning wreckage.

"No!" Nimnul bellowed. "You've ruined everything! Again!"

Running from the group of crimefighters, he threaded his way into the main lab, which was quickly disintegrating into chaos as the computers and equipment shorted and broke down. The present day professor had managed to free himself, and ran screaming through his secret escape passage…straight into the hands of Kirby and Muldoon, who had been hiding in the trucks that had brought the gold.

"Nice day, ain't it, Professor?"  
"Yeah, just beautyful," Muldoon snickered, slapping cuffs on the prisoner.

Inside, the future Nimnul had leaped onto his time machine, trying desperately to activate the complex controls. At the very second that he might have escaped, an explosion caught his ears. Looking up, he screamed and jumped away as a piece of debris from the ceiling crashed down, wrecking the machine. With its protective fields breached, the device's temporal energies were released in a blast, ripping what Gadget would later term a 'temporary hole in time'. Seeing with much happiness that the portal appeared to lead back to it's time of origin, namely September 2010, Nimnul leaped through it. As the Rangers arrived in the lab, he shook his fist back at them triumphantly.

"Ha! I've escaped again, vermin! No one gets the last laugh, on Norton Nimnul!"

"Except us, huh Professor?"  
Looking around him wildly, Nimnul slumped as he was caught on either side by two policewomen. One, a redheaded Caucasian, smiled at her partner.

"Seems like this was an easy collar, doesn't it, Kirby?"

"Yeah, Muldoon. Wait'll I tell Dad about it, he never got his hands on Nimnul this way!"

As they police led the future Nimnul toward a waiting van, Chip put his hand on Sprocket's shoulder.

"Well, I guess it's time you got going, son. Everything's safe on both ends of your timeframe."  
The boy looked confused, and then it dawned on him. With the R-IV wrecked, this was the only way home for him.  
"I still don't know if it worked," he said softly. "I still don't know…"  
"Sprocket."  
A soft voice, muffled by the twisting energies, spoke from the other side of the temporal field. As he looked back, tears streaked down the younger Ranger's face.  
"Momma?"

Chip was stunned. On the portal's other side, an all too familiar face smiled back at them.  
"Gadget?" he said in disbelief.

"Hello, Chip. I hope you took good care of our son."  
He grinned.  
"Well, it was touch and go, but we got through it," he said, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately.

"I knew you would. Just like I knew he'd save us. Golly, he's a Rescue Ranger, after all."

Chip had to smile at that.

"The years have been good to you, love."

She blushed slightly.  
"You always did know just what to say, you gallant rogue, you."

"How will Sprocket's technology get home?"  
"The temporal sequencer in the R-IV has a homing signal. Once I activate it, the energy will transport all of it back to it's point of origin here. None of you will remember this by then, naturally."

Chip looked at his son a bit wistfully.  
"Naturally."

He nudged Sprocket gently.

"Go on, boy. She's waiting for you."

The future Gadget held out her hand, just grazing the temporal field.  
"It's all right, son. We're here. Come home."

Then, she added with a smile,

"Rebecca's waiting."

Turning slightly red, Sprocket looked back at his family.

"Well guys, it's been real. See you all in the future."

Amid a chorus of good-byes and well wishes, Sprocket stepped through the field, and into his mother's arms. He buried his head against her shoulder, crying like a newborn child.

"I missed you so much, Mom."

Tears began to leak down Gadget's face as well, as she cradled him against her.  
"I know. I know."  
She raised his face toward her.  
"My brave baby boy. I'm so proud of you."

As the portal began to flicker and close, the two walked away, to where the future Rangers were standing assembled. Familiar faces presented themselves to the present Rangers, as well as some new ones. There were Tammy and Reguba's brave ones, standing tall with their parents. Basil and Mariel welcomed Sprocket back with hugs and slaps on the back, laughing and crying at the same time. Sparky stood there with a mouse that his present self didn't recognize, but he knew she was beautiful. Dale and Foxglove, along with a band of obstreperous chipmunks and bats, offered smiles and congratulations. Monterey Jack grabbed his nephew up in a bear hug, and a familiar face shone with happiness beside him.

"Desiree?" the present Monty said in disbelief. "Maybe time does heal all wounds."

All of the Rangers in 2010 raised their hands in parting, and the field collapsed with an audible pop, leaving the present crimefighters standing in the burning lab, bewildered.

"What happened?" Chip asked, confused.

"I dunno," Dale said. "We beat Nimnul again, I guess. Looks like we messed his plans up pretty good!"

"Oi'll say," Monty griped. "And oi've got the bruises t'prove it!"

"Well, whatever happened, the Rescue Rangers came out on top," Chip said. He straightened his fedora, zipped his flight jacket, and pointed to the hallway.

"Come on, gang. Let's go home. We've got a baby to get ready for!"


	8. Chapter 8: A New Generation

**Chapter VII: A New Generation**

Chip knew that something strange had happened during their battle with Nimnul, but he couldn't put his finger on it. They had had an ally…but who was it? Well, no matter now. He leaned back into the seat as the Rangerwing charged toward home, the overdrive whining as it brought the plane to full speed. Reguba sat in the back, cradling Tammy's head in his lap. The shock she had received had left her slightly crisp, but she would recover. She looked up at him, smiling even though she was barely conscious.

"My big, brave warrior," she giggled with some obvious pain. "I never knew you could be so ferocious."

"When properly motivated," he answered, taking her hand.

"I always said, never get in the way of a motivated guinea pig…er, squirrel," Sparky added from the pilot's seat. With Monty bringing up the rear in the Screaming Eagle, and Dale delivering the Rangerbolt back to the tree, all of the Rangers were soon in sight of their home. The Rangerwing's radio crackled to life.

'Chip? Come in, this is Foxglove. Come in!"

"I'm here, Foxy, what is it?"

'What do you mean, what is it, you goofball? Its time, that's what!'

"Time? Already? I knew Gadget's family tended to deliver early, but I guess it caught me by surprise!"

'Well hurry up and get your fuzzy tail back here, she's asking for you.'

"We're almost to the tree now, don't worry!" He looked over at Sparky. "Floor it!"

"You're the boss!"

Moments later, both planes landed cleanly onto the runway branch. Chip was already out of the cockpit and running before either rolled to a complete stop, nearly bowling over a white-coated mouse in his haste.

"Oh, Doctor Sloan! Sorry, didn't mean to give you a scare."

"That's all right, my boy. Where's my patient?"

Martha opened the door, taking him by the arm.

"In the first bedroom down the hallway, doctor. Thanks for coming so quickly."

"That's my job, dear lady."

He and Chip proceeded down the hallway, and through the open door. Gadget was lying in bed, a damp cloth draped across her feverish forehead.

"Well now, my dear, pleasant day for a birth, isn't it?" Doctor Sloan smiled, patting the mouse on the shoulder. Gadget glared.

"Dispense with the pleasantries and let's get this over with!"

Chip fidgeted nervously, stepping a bit closer.

"Umm…hi Gadge."

Her expression softened.

"Chip…you made it back!"

"Of course, don't I always?"

She smiled.

"Yes, you always seem to…ow!"

She jumped as a pain shot through her.

"Chip, I think it's best if you go and wait with the others, and let the professionals handle this," the doctor commented, opening his bag and laying out his implements. "Where can I wash up?"  
"Across the hall, first knothole."

"Thank you. Oh, and my nurse is out of town. Is there someone who can fill that position?"

"Well, I'd say Tammy, but she's a little under the weather herself at the moment."  
"I'll do it," Martha declared, walking back through the door. She chuckled at Chip's uncertain face.

"This old squirrel has worn more hats than you think in her life, mister chipmunk."

Doctor Sloan stood up, rolling up his sleeves as he headed across the hall.

"Good! All should be ready to proceed shortly."

Chip turned to leave, but then looked back, and squeezed Gadget's hand.

"It'll be all right, Gadge. You be strong, okay?"  
"Trying," she gasped, managing to put on a small smile.

"That's my girl."

As the time passed, the other Rangers paced the living room, Chip most of all. Monty endured the whole thing stoically, masking the fatherly concern he felt for Gadget in his heart. In Geegaw's absence, he felt his responsibility deeply.

"Well," Tammy said, struggling into a sitting position on the couch, "I guess I should go see how things are going."  
"Ixnay on that, dear one," Reguba replied, pushing her back down. "You are going to lie right there, and let Lady Foxglove finish with that burn ointment. By thunder, I've seen battle-crazed badgers that were less cantankerous."

As Chip continued to wear a trench in the floor, Dale looked at him from his perch in one of the teacup armchairs.

"Nervous, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it. This is a whole new world to me. Will I be a good father, Dale?"  
"Listen, buddy, you've sure tried to keep me straight all our lives. That's got to be good experience for this!"

A scream cut the air at that moment, and Chip made a dash for the hallway. He was halfway to the bedroom door when Reguba and Sparky caught him, hauling him back.

"Patience, lad!" Monty said, looking up from the television. "If 'ol Doc Sloan needs ya, he'll yell. Now siddown and take a load off."

"Yessir," Chip mumbled, glad to have the mantle of leadership removed for the moment.

A few minutes later, the doctor walked out, wiping his brow with his sleeve.

"Is she all right?" was the question from all sides.

"Oh yes, of course! These things do tend to run long, sometimes. I just needed a drink while there was a lull in the action!"

And so things continued throughout that evening. Chip had finally begun to lose himself in a Sureluck Jones novel, when Monty looked up.

"Ay, wait a minit. You all hear that?"  
All the Rangers listened.

"What, Monterey?"

"Exactly. Its quiet! Not a sound from in there, mates."

"You think everything's all right?" Foxglove asked.

"Awww, our little Gadget's right as rain. Oi wouldn't be surprised if we saw the little nipper any time now."  
Chip sighed, setting his book down on the table.

"I was getting really worried there for a while. The doctor was swearing like Fat Cat on bad caviar a few minutes ago."  
Sparky hid a grin.  
"Ahh, Chip…I think that was Gadget."

"Oh…"

The bedroom door opened. Martha stepped into the living room, and motioned for the others.

"Its all right. You can come in now."

Chip got to his feet, holding onto Monty for support. Little Bink, who had been asleep beside her sister up to this point, charged ahead, barreling through before anyone could stop her. The rambunctious six-year-old hopped up onto the bed, looking at Gadget curiously.

"Is that the baby?" she asked, her eyes going wide.

Gadget smiled tiredly, gazing down at the little bundle in her arms.

"Yes it is, short stuff."  
Bink reached out and stroked the soft fur on the newborn's head.

"It's so small."

"Yes, she is. But she'll grow."

The Rangers peered into the room, taking in what was happening. Chip pushed the door the rest of the way open, walking uncertainly over to the bed.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his worry evident.

Gadget's eyes sparkled with amusement, despite her weariness.

"I feel about as bad as when Lawainie zapped me with Nimnul's invention, but I'll live." She patted the bed beside where Bink was sitting. "Come on. Come see our daughter."

He sat down, his apprehension beginning to lift a little. Nestled in Gadget's arms, the tiny mousegirl smiled up at him, blue eyes shining like stars. His breath caught in his throat.

"She looks just like you."  
"Yes, but she's got your tenacity, I can tell that already."

"That could be a good thing. The best of both worlds, you know."  
He leaned over and kissed her gently.

"You'll be a great mother."  
"And you'll be a great dad, I know. Now tell everybody to come on in, before they fall over each other trying to listen."

That was all it took. The room instantly filled with the rest of the team, hearty congratulations and a number of cheers passing around. Reguba tickled the baby under her chin, and she grabbed his finger, gurgling.

"A true warrior's grip!" he exclaimed.

Monterey leaned down, a wide grin on his face.

"Well 'ello there, me liddle mate! Oi'm yore Uncle Monty! Oi bet yore first word'll be cheese, or my name ain't Monterey Jack!"

"Uncle nothing," Gadget said. "I was thinking more along the lines of godfather."

"So was I," Chip agreed. "How about it, Monty?"

"Well…well, tie me to a wombat's hind leg! Oi'd be honored, mates!"

Gadget looked over at Tammy, and smiled.

"And now we need a godmother."

Tammy looked around for a second before realizing that Gadget was referring to her.  
"Me? But aren't I too young?"

"You've grown a lot of years in the time I've known you. That's good enough for me."

Tammy leaned over the bedside and hugged her friend.

"I'd be happy to. It's the least I can do."

Chip slipped his arm around his wife, gazing down at their new child.  
"What do we call her?" he asked.

"I had already thought about that," Gadget answered. "I thought maybe we take turns. I name this one, and you get the next one."

"Works for me."

She lifted the baby around where everyone could see.

"Everybody, meet Mariel Annette Hackwrench Maplewood."

"It's a mouthful, but it's beautiful," Martha laughed. "It fits her, I think."

There was general consensus on that statement. There was also no doubt that the little girl would grow up to look just like Gadget…just as Sprocket Hackwrench had predicted.

Even in this time of joy, as she gazed out the nearby window, Gadget felt a sense of sadness. She knew she had met someone over the past several days…but she couldn't remember them! She felt that whoever it was had been almost like…almost like a son to her. She smiled.

"Well," she whispered, looking down at her precious cargo, "who knows what the future holds?"

Epilogue: New York City, November, 2010

"Sprocket! Where's my nine-sixteenths socket?"  
"Check the organizer on your workbench, Mom!"  
"Okay, found it, sorry about that!"

Sprocket shook his head and grinned. Even the greatest inventor in mousedom needed a little organizational help sometimes. He put his arm around Rebecca, as they sat on the sofa in Ranger HQ's living room.

"Now, where were we?"

She giggled, batting long, reddish eyelashes. Sprocket's heart fluttered, and he almost felt himself slipping away in the bottomless blue pools below those lashes.

Crash!

The front door flew open, and a mouse stumbled in, drenched from the rain pouring outside.

Sprocket and Rebecca jumped from the couch, and ran to help.

"Is this…Rescue Ranger Headquarters?" the female mouse asked, coughing from the cold.

"Yes it is. How can we help you?"  
"Its…a long story."  
Looking up at the clock, which only read eight-thirty, Sprocket grinned.

"Mom! Dad! Everybody! Front and center! I think we've got a case!"

Nothing ever stayed quiet at the Rangers' tree for long. When duty called, they would answer.

For generations to come.

The End

To be continued in Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: Due South


End file.
